Tales of Winter Red
by onwire
Summary: AU/Naruto knows he has a duty to fulfill and marrying an Uzumaki girl is one of those things, but he isn't so sure he's ready. But no one said that the Uzumaki girl liked it either. NaruOC


**One**

"You promised you'd tell me about Tou-san when I became a genin. Well, I'm a genin now!" A small blond boy held up a navy blue hitai-ate with a shining metal plate. In front of him stood a woman in her mid-thirties with red hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her violet eyes looked at the blond child with love and a small smile graced her oval shaped face. They stood in a large open room with a few couches and side-tables, a large window letting in light.

"Naruto-kun, come with me." The woman held out her hand for Naruto to take and he did so dutifully. "What do you already know about him?" The two walked through a maze of hallways until they reached a large set of wooden double doors with the familiar Uzumaki swirl in the center.

"I know he's a hero." Naruto said while his redheaded mother placed her palm in the center of the two doors. They didn't have handles. Channeling a little bit of chakra through her hand, the doors swung open slowly revealing a tidy office with one wall covered completely in bookshelves. A plush looking sofa was situated across from a desk that was seemingly piled high with paper.

"This was your father's office. Come, sit down." She led Naruto to the couch and they both sat down, facing each other. The redhead closed her eyes and they sat in blissful silence for a bit until Naruto poked her leg.

"Nobody will tell me what Tou-san was like." he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

"You're acting like a seven-year-old, Naruto-kun." his mother reprimanded, a small grin making its way onto her face. "But, your father, he was a hero, yes. He was powerful; he once took out an entire Iwagakure battalion in a little under a minute. He had a flee-on-sight order in the bingo books, ya know?" Naruto shook his head, earning confusion from his mother.

"No no, Kaa-san, what was Tou-san _like_?" he insisted. His mother nodded her head in realization, a small 'ahh' escaping her lips.

"He was a kind man, he cared about everyone. He was clam," Naruto's mother poked him gently in the forehead, "unlike _someone I know_." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a faint blush on his cheeks. "For such a fearsome man, he was kind of a wimp." She said the last part quietly, grinning cheekily at her son. "When I was going through labor, he was freaking out. He didn't know what to do with himself." She chuckled to herself at the bittersweet memory.

"Wow, really?" Naruto looked at his mother in awe, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in a gasp. "Am I like him at all, besides looks?"

"No, you're more like me than you are Minato, but one thing you both posses is your indomitable spirit. You and Minato have this fierce ambition never to quit no matter what. It was quite irritating sometimes, but he means well." Uzumaki Kushina traced the Kyubi whiskers on her son's cheek. "I see him in you everyday," she whispered. Standing up, she took one last look around the room before leading her twelve-year-old son out of the office and closing the door.

"Kushina-sama, Kushina-sama, where have you been?" A small woman with short red hair came rushing up to the duo, slight perspiration on her forehead and ruddy cheeks. "The council has sent me to find you and I've been looking everywhere." Kushina bowed slightly to the woman in front of her and smiled.

"I'm sorry to worry you, Ikue, please tell the council that I'll be right there." Ikue bowed to the head of her clan and scurried off, leaving Naruto frowning beside his mother.

"Kaa-san, you promised we'd spend the day together." he whined. Kushina chuckled and ruffled her son's hair.

"Go get some lunch at Ichiraku's. This won't take long, I promise." She kissed her son's forehead before pushing him in the direction of the front of the compound and placing a few coins in his hand. Naruto, thoroughly dejected, sulked off, leaving his mom to make her way to the council room.

xXxXx

"Tag, you're it!" Three small redheaded girls were chasing each other in one of the many gardens that littered the medium-sized clan compound. Each of them wore the same clothes, a navy blue long-sleeved kimono top and dark grey shorts. On the back of their shirts was the trademark Uzumaki symbol: the swirl. The tallest girl had curly red hair a shade darker than the other two girls that was pulled into pigtails and a pair of navy and grey goggles hanging loosely around her neck. She stood still in the center of the garden, her clear blue eyes flitting between the two other girls. On impulse, she lunged at the shortest one, a girl with the same curly red hair that was cut in a bob, barely brushing her shoulders.

"No fair, Kanon!" the girl who was tagged whined. She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You promised no chakra!" Kanon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Sorry, I was practicing that move and though I would use it." Kanon had pumped chakra to her legs to make them faster, effectively catching her twin sister before she had the chance to run away. The third girl walked over and stood behind the arguing sisters.

"I suppose that means the game is over?" she inquired pointedly, sending a glare to both of the sisters.

"Sorry, Yukie." Kanon said. "Kunimi and I should probably head home to see what Kaa-san wants us to do anyway." Yukie nodded and turned to walk away.

"Hey Yukie," Kunimi called, holding her hand out to stop the Uzumaki girl. "Are we going to head to the Academy together tomorrow to see our team placement?"

"Yeah, I guess." Happy with the answer, Kunimi dragged her sister back to their house, leaving Yukie alone in the garden. Sighing, Yukie sat on the ground and began to draw idly on the dirt surface with a stick she found nearby. A movement caught her eye and she turned her head to see the clan heir, a blond boy no less, rush past her and down the street. He had it easy, she thought bitterly. Everything he wanted, he got. Rolling her mismatched eyes, Yukie stood up and brushed the dirt from her legs before deciding to head home. But the blond boy was still on her mind.

xXxXx

"Hey hey, it's Naruto-kun!" The chef at Ichiraku, Teuchi, wiped his hands on an off-white towel and proceeded to engage the boy in an animated conversation. "I see you have your forehead protector, that means you passed?" Naruto beamed at the older man.

"You bet I did!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, his wide grin becoming wider. "One step closer to being Hokage!" Teuchi patted the kid's head before heading to the kitchen to make him some ramen.

"Consider it on the house," he said as he slid the bowl of miso ramen over to the Uzumaki. Naruto devoured the bowl in less than fifteen seconds, never being one to let good hot foot sit.

"I never understood how you do that." A new voice said, a teenage girl appearing from the kitchen. She wore a bandana over her hair and had a warm smile on.

"Ayame-nee!" Naruto greeted the girl. She was like an older sister to him and in turn, she thought of him as the cute little brother she'd never get.

"I believe he gets that from me." Kushina entered the shop, resting a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Ahh, I should have guessed it would be you Kushina-chan." Teuchi smiled at the clan head. "Minato was never a fan of ramen unless you cooked it." Kushina snorted.

"Got that right, old man. Naruto," said kid glanced up at his mother, "we have to go back to the compound now, the council would like to have a word with you." Naruto nodded and stood up, bowing in thanks to the ramen owner and his daughter. The Uzumaki's then departed, mother pushing son along so they would get home faster.

"Why does the council want me?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. Kushina shrugged.

"They just want you there to talk about a few things now that you are a genin." That was a lie, and Kushina knew it, but she didn't want to saddle Naruto down with any heavy information right away. It seemed to work, and Naruto blithely contented to walk to the council room. In a semi-circle sat six people all with the trademark Uzumaki red hair. In front of them sat a man with dark blue eyes and short red hair in a dull brown yukata with the Uzumaki symbol stitched to the sleeve. Kushina and Naruto sat next to him when the council began to speak.

"Uzumaki Naruto, son of Uzumaki Kushina-sama and the late Namikaze Minato-sama." The head of the council, a middle-aged man named Aguri announced in a commanding voice. "You are officially a genin now, we extend our congratulations. Now that you are officially a ninja, you must uphold the Uzumaki way by being the best ninja you can possibly be." Naruto nodded, sitting up straighter, a fierce determination entering his eyes.

"I promise I'll be the best ninja you've ever seen, dattebayo! I'm gonna be Hokage!" he cried. The council looked at each other and smiled.

"We had a feeling you would be, Naruto. You are dismissed. The council is adjourned." Naruto filed out with his mother and everyone else followed.

"Congratulations, Naruto." The man in the brown yukata gave Naruto a hug. He released the boy before taking hold of Kushina's hand. He was Toushi, Kushina's new husband. After Minato sealed the Kyubi inside of Naruto, Kushina was about to die but the Uzumaki clan broke through and healed her (although it took a long time and she was never the same after). Taking over as head, she married Uzumaki Toushi on suggestion from the council. Although she didn't love him, he adored her and she cared for him. Toushi was never a father to Naruto, more like an uncle or someone from the clan he would go to for advice. "Now you know as heir there are certain duties you must preform, right?" Naruto nodded, unsure of where the conversation was going. "Well you know one of those duties is to marry for the clan." Naruto nodded again, feeling fear in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like where it was going now. Toushi sighed loudly before finishing, "We have finished a betrothal contract for you." Naruto's stomach sank, he knew that he wouldn't ever get to date Sakura like he wanted to now.

"With who?" he asked.

"With _whom_." Kushina corrected gently. Naruto gave his mother the stink eye before repeating, "With whom?"

"Uzumaki Yukie." Toushi said. "We're having dinner with her family tomorrow night." Naruto bowed his head in defeat, knowing that arguing would get him nowhere. Meanwhile, in another house in the district, Uzumaki Yukie was engaged in a staring match with her father.

"You _will_ marry the heir, and that is final!" he roared. Yukie sneered; clenching her fists to tightly that she began to bleed.

"I don't want to marry him." she bit back. Uzumaki Aguri felt frustrated at his youngest child. She had the opportunity to become the most powerful woman in the clan, yet she didn't want to.

"You don't have a choice, the contract has been drawn up, we sign tomorrow." Aguri's tone demanded the end of the discussion, but Yukie did not relent.

"No, Otou-san! I will not marry for the clan!" she yelled, feeling her cheeks redden with anger. "I refuse to go through with the Yuinou **(1)**!" Yukie's mother entered the room, pulling her daughter out quickly.

"Yukie, I'm afraid you don't have a choice my daughter." Uzumaki Orimi was a woman who aged gracefully, only a few wrinkles on her forehead and maroon colored hair with a few grey strands. Yukie glared at her mother too.

"I should have a choice." She snarled. Orimi sighed and hugged Yukie, though the girl didn't hug back.

"I know you are young and you want to marry for love, but don't you think you should give Naruto-sama a chance? He's really a sweet boy and you would make a fantastic matriarch one day." Yukie shook her head vehemently.

"No." she said. "I can't." She looked at her mother long and hard, her blue and grey eyes filling with tears. "I won't."

* * *

**The name's Haru! This is my first story; it's an AU about if Kushina survived and there was an Uzumaki clan. The clan is comprised of OC's but other than that, there won't be much of them. I hope you guys liked it, please R&R**

**(1) Yuinou is the traditional Japanese ceremony of engagement. Both families exchange money and articles as a token of of the engagement in the ceremony. **


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